City of Bern, Switzerland explored in 90 minutes

How much of a city can you see in 90 minutes? If you have 90 minutes to spare would you step out to check out the city or prefer to relax in a cozy place? On my day 2 in Switzerland, I planned to stop over at Bern and spend a few hours exploring the city. It had a house where Einstein had stayed and few other attractions. However, as I first decided to go to Niesen peak near Spiez, I had very limited time left for Bern. With next train to Geneva some 15 and 90 minutes away, I stepped out of the station at about 12.10 PM with the thought of skipping immediate connection and taking next one, making the most of my 90 minutes. First I walked to an Indian Restaurant, Maharaja but was greeted by the closed door and a notice that said on Sundays restaurant open only by 5.30 PM.

I had made some plans to visit a few specific spots in the city- like bear park, Einstein House etc. But given the reduced time, it seemed difficult that I will be able to visit them. So I changed my plans. I decided to hop on into a tram and do some random sight seeing. If I find something interesting around, I would get down at next station, take some pics and hop on a tram again. Like this, with some walking and tram rides, I could take some decent photos of the city- the bridge, a museum, a river and a bunch of such outdoor stuff. Below are the pictures from my short exploration of Bern city.

River Aare runs around Bern and is its main lifeline. There are several bridges across River Aare, below is one of them... There is a botanical garden on the other side but I had no time.


Another bridge across River Aare.. I had time to cross this.




Einstein Museum, Bern



Above-right: The Bern Minster is a cathedral in the old city of Bern. Only saw it from a distance. More about this 15^th  century building here

Zytglogge- Bern’s landmark medieval tower- this is an 800 year old building with several renovations and 15^th century astronomical clock. More on Wikipedia

Kindlifresserbrunnen- Child eater fountain

Kunsthalle Bern- an art museum/exhibition centre.

With last few minutes remaining, I literally ran from tram station (just one station before Railway station) to click this building. Clicked some pictures and ran back to catch next tram. Had no clue what this building is, found later that this building is Bendeshaus or Federal Palace of Switzerland- it is a century old administrative building.…

Above: The bright red trams in Bern, Switzerland....

The city of Bern certainly deserves more time than I could spend.